House votes to block Obama rules cracking down on border-state gun dealers

The House voted today to block President Obama’s requirement that border-state gun dealers must alert federal law enforcement about multiple sales of rifles.

The 247-163 vote in the Republican-dominated House fell mostly along party lines, though 23 Democrats, including Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, joined 224 Republicans favoring the legislation and eight Republicans joined 155 Democrats opposing it.

The measure faces an uncertain fate in the less-gun-friendly Senate. And Obama has threatened to veto the overall $51 billion spending bill, citing among his reasons the House language on the rifle rule.

Nevertheless, gun-state Republicans hailed the House vote.

“We know where the House stands on gun rights (so) let’s hope the Senate will stand up to the president in support of the Constitution,” said Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., author of the amendment that prevents the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from spending money to enforce the rifle regulation.

Announced last August, the rule requires about 8,500 gun dealers in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California to notify the ATF every time they sell two or more high-powered rifles to the same customer within five days.

The White House implemented it to curb rising Mexican drug cartel gun purchases at a time when the administration was under mounting pressure from Republican lawmakers and gun-rights advocates over Operation Fast & Furious.

In Fast & Furious, Phoenix-based ATF agents used watch-and-wait tactics on cartel-linked gun purchasers and lost track of over 2,000 weapons that slipped into Mexico.

Two of those weapons were recovered in December 2010 in Southern Arizona at the murder site of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

Gun-rights proponents argued that in promulgating the rifle-reporting mandate, the Obama White House exceeded its authority to regulate firearms sales and should have sought congressional approval.

But gun-control advocates countered that Thursday’s vote was about the pro-gun lobby flexing its muscles on behalf of border-state firearms dealers more interested in profits than protecting lives.

“This is the dirty little secret of the gun dealers,’’ said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Citing ATF data showing the rule already has aided agents in arresting gun traffickers in border states, Gross said “if the gun lobby had its way, these traffickers would’ve evaded prosecution and gun dealers would’ve been able to keep bulk sales of AK-47s a secret.’’

The rule, which remains in effect, covers sales of semi-automatic rifles greater than .22 caliber that have detachable magazines.